Senator Lieberman & Peaceful Conflict Resolution

What resulted from Senator Joseph Lieberman's cancellation yesterday ofa scheduled meeting with Leslie Angeline, and other members of CODEPINK,to discuss his recent remarks on CBS' "Face the Nation", that "…we'vegot to be prepared to take aggressive military action against theIranians…", was a microcosm of the very dynamic we had come to protest,the belief that ultimately you must use force to resolve conflict, andour call for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict with Iran.

Senator Lieberman's cancellation of yesterday's scheduled meeting was anacting out of the very U.S. policy which leads to war, death anddestruction – the refusal to talk to those with whom you disagree,refusal to talk to your opponents, your enemy.

What followed Senator Lieberman's refusal to talk with us, demonstratesthe power of a willingness to be open – a willingness to talk to oneanother.

Sixty people, from around the country, including leaders from theIranian community, came to Senator Lieberman's office at the originalmeeting time of 4:30 p.m., yesterday afternoon. After all sixty of uscompletely filled the reception area of Senator Lieberman's office,Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, again asked that SenatorLieberman meet with us, as originally scheduled, and recounted theseries of events that led up to the cancellation of the meeting.

The receptionist in Senator Lieberman's office kept insisting that weleave and we kept insisting on meeting with Senator Lieberman. Finally,we were given a warning by a member of the Capitol police to leave orface arrest.

Then the phone rang. The receptionist answered the phone, left her deskand went into another room. She returned with Senator Lieberman's chiefof staff who again told us the meeting had been cancelled and said wemust leave.

Leslie Angeline began to talk about her recent travels in Iran and thebeautiful people she met, and in a very emotional plea begged the UnitedStates not bomb the people of Iran, 70% who are under the age of 30.

Senator Lieberman's chief of staff was visibly touched by Leslie's plea. When Leslie was finished speaking, Medea Benjamin asked the chief ofstaff if there was a high ranking staff member who would meet with adelegation from the group. What resulted from that request was ameeting which lasted over an hour with three members from our group andSenator Lieberman's chief of staff, legislative director, and an aide onthe Middle East.

Yesterday we came to Senator Lieberman's office to advocate for aresolution of the conflict with Iran, through diplomacy not war. Whatsubsequently played out in Senator Lieberman's office was a powerfulexample that conflicts can be resolved peacefully.

The conflict yesterday, in Senator Lieberman's office, was resolvedthrough the power of persistence, words, good will, the power ofhumanity and a willingness, on the part of everyone involved, to be openand respectful of one another, a willingness to come face to face, awillingness to negotiate and compromise and come to some agreement, someunderstanding.

The principles and values that brought about the peaceful resolution tothe conflict yesterday in Senator Lieberman's office are the sameprinciples and values that can bring about a diplomatic resolution tothe conflict with Iran.

1 comment:

Thanks for the post. I particularly like your discussion at the end about "the principles and values" that led to a resolution of the conflict. We hear so much talk about all kinds of crap, with very little discussion about what the "principles" are, what problem people are actually trying to solve, and what people actually value. As for me, I value women and peace. I can't wait to come back to the Pink House.